The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black
by Cenlyra
Summary: JK Rowling said herself, there are many stories between the lines of the illustrious Black family. This is my take on the hidden stories of the family


One of the first things Elladora Black remembered was the dragon pox. It affected her older brothers and made its way down the line to her.

She remembered itching, lots of itching. Nothing could take the itching away, and she kept being told not to scratch. And although she was still young, she didn't like the colors her skin turned: it took on a very green tinge, and all the itchy spots all over were purple.

She was miserable at first, with a high fever, and the family house-elf, Dara, wouldn't pay her enough attention. She felt like she couldn't breathe, and when she sneezed, sparks burned the inside of her nose.

She remembered crying a lot, for a long time, before Dara would even come to her. And Dara never stayed with her long. Dara didn't ever do anything to help Elladora feel better. She only brought her drinks or food or made her take a bath. And then she always said "No scratching," and left Elladora alone again.

Elladora never really knew what was happening outside of her room during this time, and she didn't care. She knew, beyond a doubt, that she was the most miserable three year old in the whole world and sky.

Secretly, she did scratch her itches a lot. She couldn't help it. They hurt so bad. But every time her parents came in to check on her, they always knew. The spots on her body just kept getting worse and itchier.

Dara came in one time with nasty smelling green liquid, that she made Elladora drink. It tasted as nasty as it smelled, and it made her want to vomit.

The next thing she remembered, she was waking up to loud screaming and crying. Confused, she crawled out of her bed and opened her door. All of a sudden, Dara was there, blocking her.

"Move," Elladora commanded.

Dara had no choice but to obey. She reluctantly stepped aside, warning Elladora that "Young Mistress will not want to see."

Absently scratching at the marks on her arm, Elladora made her way toward the noise that woke her, followed closely by the nosy house-elf. The screaming was coming from her brothers' room. It was either Sirius or Phineas. She was sure of that.

As she softly opened their door, her father pushed her out of the way to go into the room before her.

"Dara, keep her away," he ordered.

"Come, Young Mistress," Dara said to Elladora, taking her arm and forcing her back into her room.

"Dara, stop!" Elladora yelled again and again, to no avail.

And she was left in her room alone again; Dara had closed the door and left. Elladora immediately grasped the door handle, but no matter how hard she turned it, the door wouldn't open.

"Mummy! Daddy!" she screeched, trying to escape her room. "Dara, let me free!"

But Dara wasn't there to listen.

She fought with the door for a while and screamed and cried for a while longer. Finally, she fell silent and realized that the crying from her brothers' room had stopped.

Elladora never knew how long she was locked in her room, but it felt like days. Almost as long as the dragon pox lasted. Finally, the door opened.

Dara stepped into Elladora's room, and said seriously, "Follow Dara. Young Mistress must know. Young Mistress must see."

Dara led Elladora to Sirius's and Phineas's room and opened the door. Like always, there were two beds in the room.

But there was only one brother.

"Phinny, where's Siri?" Elladora asked.

Her brother looked at her. It looked like he'd been crying.

"Phinny, boys don't cry," she announced confidently. She remembered her father telling Phineas that before, when Sirius had thrown a fit and kicked him in anger.

"Ella," Phineas said. "Siri is gone."

Elladora looked over at Sirius's empty bed and then back at Phineas. "Gone where?"

"Gone. Now leave me alone."

"No, Phinny. You tell me, where is Siri?"

"Mummy and Daddy took him away."

Elladora remembered that all her life. How both her brothers had caught dragon pox along with her. How Dara the house-elf had kept her away from the rest of the family and never offered her relief. And how, when her oldest brother was screaming and crying in pain, Dara had kept her locked in her room. How the last time she had seen her oldest brother alive, they were playing a game, and how he had gotten so sick he died without her even knowing.

"Aunt Elladora, I'm getting married," her youngest nephew said while they were having tea. "Mother and Father arranged a marriage with Vi Bulstrode."

The same house-elf from Elladora's childhood was very old by that point, although she was still respectfully serving the house of Black to the best of her failing ability.

Dara slipped into the room with a silver tray, and both Blacks turned toward the sudden noise.

Elladora glared in the elf's direction. "House elves should be silent," she growled. "Stop clinking the tray."

But as much as Dara tried to hold herself still under her mistress's command, she just couldn't keep the tray steady, and it clattered onto the ground, spilling tea everywhere.

"Clean it up," Elladora ordered immediately.

"Dara is sorry," the elf said immediately in a hoarse whisper. "Dara did not mean to drop the tray."

"Dara's outlived her usefulness, I think," Cygnus, Elladora's nephew commented.

Elladora smiled wryly. She had been planning, awaiting this moment since her childhood. "Good," she answered. "I've been wanting a new plaque on the wall. I think her head would fit nicely just... there." She triumphantly pointed at a wall by the staircase.

Within a day, the family's younger house-elf Vernus had taken over all of Dara's usual duties, and worked under the watchful eye of Elladora's new plaque. 


End file.
